Storage battery.



0. I LEACFL STORAGE BATIE R'Y. PPLICAHON min "mm-1918;

Patented Man. 4, 1919.

INVENTOR,

OrzziZZeL,

WITNESSES ATTORNEY minute portions of active material, which may OBVILLE LIVINGSTON LEAGH, or PROVIDENCE. RHODE IsLAND.

STORAGE BATTERY.

Lena-s.

To ail wlzom it may concern.

. Be, it .known that-"I. ()RYILLE L. Leac r, a citizen of-thc l'nited States. residing at Providence, in the county of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to storage batteries and more particularly to the production of storage battery plates.

"The object of the invention is to provide;

an especially strong plate resistant to vari.

ous distortingforces liable to prove destructive to storage battery plates.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a grid of the material usually employed in storage batteries, and this grid is composed of a frame with spaced b'ars extending between and joining the'top and bottom of the frame, these bars .or posts each comprising acore with a helical groove having the'turns relatively close together. The spaces'betweenthe turns are filled with be extended so spaces between the bars.

posts, except perhaps the helices, are wholly inclosed in active material and in case the active material bridges the spaces between the'poststheamount of exposed metal is reduced to a negligible minimum..

Astorage battery plate construct-ed in accordance with the invention. is highly adas to bridge the In either eventthe 'fvant'ageous in several particulars which will be hereinafter referred to.

The invention will be from a consideration of the following'deice tailed deseription taken in connection with the 'accoui'panylng of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention 1s not confined to any strict conformity with the show-- ing of the drawings but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as Specification of Letters Patent.

of Providence and State of Rhode Island. have invented a new of top and bottom and end bars 4.

best understood drawings forming part sheets may a storage batbroken aw'ay and in section section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating a different arrangement of the applied active materia Fig. i is a section similar to Fig. 3, bu showing still another arrangement of the active material.

Referring to the drawings,-there is shown a gr1d1 composed of a main frame made up The top and bottom-bars are ]O1Iled by a series'of posts 5, each procro ss section, the grid being formed oflead', as 15 customary.

I v The turns of the flange G"are'relat1ve1y 'close together, be1ng shown in the drawings as spaced apart lengthwise of the post by distances about equal to the thickness of the flanges. but it is to be understood that such particular spacing is not obligatory. The spacing of the turns of the flange provide a continuous helical groove 'Zfrom one end of the post to the other and in the finished plate 't hese are-filled with active material 8 which may extend only to the outer edge ofthe groove, as inJFig. 4, or may bridge the spaces between posts, as indicated at 9'in Figs. 1, '2 and 3. lVhere a larger surface of active material is desired than is provided in the arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2. the bridging portions 9 may be grooved or concaved on the outer face, as indicated at 10 in Fig. 3', thereby forming a wavy or corrugatedface for the plate.

active material employed which is customarily an oXid of lead when first applied. that is, red lead for-the positiveplates and litharge or yellow lead for the negative plates. WVhen the'elements are assembled in the form of a battery the usual wooden be employed as insulators and separators, while the cells or jars are made of hard rubber or glass or other suitable material.

The grids may be cast or molded, but because such cast or molded grids are more crystalline than a rol ed or struck-up grid and consequently more susceptible to electroit is preferred to 'employ the lytic action,

rolled or. struck-up more economical of production, saves'junking of the plates and is an easier and cleaner process than the cast process.

Moreover,

easier and more firmly rolled'or pressed mto Patented Mar. 4, 1919. Application filed April 24. 1918. Serial No. 230,519. i i 7 bars 2 v and 3 respectively,

-vided with ahelical flange or web 6 of flat The invention has nothing to do with the,

form of grid, since it is the. activematerial mayybe the grid than is the case with other forms of grids, and when in place will stand sulfating, swelling and other distorting forces to a far better degree than storage battery lates as ordinarily produced. 4

The posts are placed -as close together as they may conveniently be placed Without the helical flanges orwebs touching. Moreover,

when the o'xid bridges the spaces between the posts the whole plate is strengthened there- 'by. The post with the helical ribjor Web is effectively as strong as a solid or hollow post of the same external diameter, buthas the advantage of holding a substantial quantity of active material in the continu- I ous helical groove extending from" end to end of the post. Such material when swell-.

ing' simply travels lengthwise of the groove and when contracting will return to itsinitial position without liability of the active material breaking down or being forced awayfrom the support so as to be lost.

Moreo'ver, when standing'idle, a batteryconstructed in accordance with the iirention is not subject tostagn'ation of the electrolyte and consequent irregular sulfating. NVhcre theposts are separated, as in Fig. 4, or the surface is corrugated or wavy as in Fig. 3,

, there is plenty of space for the electrolyte to circulate by the intermolecular motion of the electrolyte. All theseconditions cone tribute to the resistance of the grid to distortion when the battery is being charged.

In airplanes it is demanded that the grids be made very thin in order to get vquick action, the thickness being not more than one- .siXtyfourth of an inch. Grids of ordinary type soon break down if made so thin, but

with the grid of this invention excellent service-is obtainable even with such extremev thinness, while arelatively large surface is obtainable with extreme light weightin the corrugated or wavy surface form, shown in Fig.3. v What is claimed is-:'-

border frame with" interior l 1. A storage battery grid, comprising a posts each composedofa central core with a helical flange or web of short itch outstanding therefrom and extending rom one end to the other, the frame, posts and webs-being allmade of lead, and the spaces between the turns of the flange or web constituting a :ontinuous receptacle for active material.

2. A storage battery plate, comprising a grid consisting of a border frame Withto'p,

bottom and end bars and posts joiningthe top and bottom bars and each formed of a central core with an outstanding helical en'dto end of the' post to provide a c'ontinuflange or web of short pitch extending from ous helical pocket, and active material 3 lodged in each pocket and continuedfrom 'post to post filling the spaces between the posts with active material,- and the opposite faces of the plate being grooved to provide a wavy 'or corrugated surface' 3. A storage battery plate, comprising a,

grid with posts each comprising a core with an exterior hellcal flange or web, and active ,material filling the spaces between the turns of the webs and between neighboring posts,

the material between the posts being reduced 1n thickness to produce grooves imparting a 

